Device, method, and graphical user interface for resizing content viewing and text entry interfaces

ABSTRACT

An electronic device includes instructions for: displaying a text entry interface area at a first size for the text entry interface area; concurrently displaying a viewing area adjacent to the text entry interface area, at a first size for the viewing area; detecting a continuous finger contact that starts in the viewing area, moves in a first direction towards the text entry interface area, contacts a predefined boundary associated with the text entry interface area, and continues to move in the first direction after contacting the predefined boundary; and, in response to detecting the continuous finger contact continuing to move in the first direction after contacting the predefined boundary: increasing the viewing area to a second size of the viewing area; and scrolling the text entry interface area to reduce the displayed text entry interface area to a second size of the text entry interface area.

RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application Ser.No. 61/581,619, filed Dec. 29, 2011, which is incorporated herein byreference in its entirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

This relates generally to electronic devices with touch-sensitivesurfaces, including but not limited to electronic devices withtouch-sensitive surfaces that resize a viewing area and a text entryinterface in response to a gesture.

BACKGROUND

The use of touch-sensitive surfaces as input devices for computers andother electronic computing devices has increased significantly in recentyears. Exemplary touch-sensitive surfaces include touch pads and touchscreen displays. Such surfaces are widely used to manipulate userinterface objects on a display.

Exemplary manipulations include entering text using a text entryinterface (e.g., an interface that includes a soft keyboard) and viewingtext and other content in a concurrently displayed viewing area. Whilethe virtual keyboard is displayed, there is less screen space for theviewing area. Thus, the user may want to resize the viewing area and thetext entry interface to reveal more of the content.

But existing methods for resizing the viewing area and text entryinterface are cumbersome and inefficient. For example, existing methodstypically employ an all-or-nothing approach; the soft keyboard is eithercompletely displayed or completely hidden. Completely hiding the softkeyboard when the user merely wants a temporarily expanded view of theviewing area is inefficient and tedious, as the user has to make anadditional input to make the soft keyboard reappear. In addition,existing methods take longer than necessary, thereby wasting energy.This latter consideration is particularly important in battery-operateddevices.

SUMMARY

Accordingly, there is a need for electronic devices with faster, moreefficient methods and interfaces for resizing a viewing area and a textentry interface. Such methods and interfaces may complement or replaceconventional methods for resizing a viewing area and a text entryinterface. Such methods and interfaces reduce the cognitive burden on auser and produce a more efficient human-machine interface. Forbattery-operated devices, such methods and interfaces conserve power andincrease the time between battery charges.

The above deficiencies and other problems associated with userinterfaces for electronic devices with touch-sensitive surfaces arereduced or eliminated by the disclosed devices. In some embodiments, thedevice is a desktop computer. In some embodiments, the device isportable (e.g., a notebook computer, tablet computer, or handhelddevice). In some embodiments, the device has a touchpad. In someembodiments, the device has a touch-sensitive display (also known as a“touch screen” or “touch screen display”). In some embodiments, thedevice has a graphical user interface (GUI), one or more processors,memory and one or more modules, programs or sets of instructions storedin the memory for performing multiple functions. In some embodiments,the user interacts with the GUI primarily through finger contacts andgestures on the touch-sensitive surface. In some embodiments, thefunctions may include image editing, drawing, presenting, wordprocessing, website creating, disk authoring, spreadsheet making, gameplaying, telephoning, video conferencing, e-mailing, instant messaging,workout support, digital photographing, digital videoing, web browsing,digital music playing, and/or digital video playing. Executableinstructions for performing these functions may be included in anon-transitory computer readable storage medium or other computerprogram product configured for execution by one or more processors.

In accordance with some embodiments, an electronic device includes atouch-sensitive display, one or more processors, memory, and one or moreprograms. The one or more programs are stored in the memory andconfigured to be executed by the one or more processors. The one or moreprograms include instructions for: displaying a text entry interfacearea on the touch-sensitive display, the text entry interface area beingdisplayed at a first predefined size for the text entry interface area,the text entry interface area including a soft keyboard when displayedat the first predefined size for the text entry interface area;concurrently displaying a viewing area adjacent to the text entryinterface area on the touch-sensitive display, the viewing areaconfigured to display scrollable information that includes informationentered via the text entry interface, the viewing area being displayedat a first size for the viewing area; detecting a first finger gestureon the touch-sensitive display, the first finger gesture including acontinuous finger contact that starts in the viewing area, moves in afirst direction towards the text entry interface area, contacts apredefined boundary associated with the text entry interface area, andcontinues to move in the first direction after contacting the predefinedboundary; in response to detecting the continuous finger contactstarting in the viewing area and moving in the first direction towardsthe text entry interface area prior to contacting the predefinedboundary: scrolling information displayed in the viewing area;maintaining the first size of the viewing area; and maintaining thefirst predefined size of the text entry interface area; and, in responseto detecting the continuous finger contact continuing to move in thefirst direction after contacting the predefined boundary: continuing toscroll information displayed in the viewing area; increasing the viewingarea from the first size of the viewing area to a second size of theviewing area, larger than the first size of the viewing area, inaccordance with the continued movement of the continuous finger contact;and scrolling the text entry interface area to reduce the displayed textentry interface area from the first predefined size of the text entryinterface area to a second size of the text entry interface area,smaller than the first predefined size of the text entry interface area,in accordance with the continued movement of the continuous fingercontact.

In accordance with some embodiments, a method is performed at anelectronic device with a touch-sensitive display. The method includes:displaying a text entry interface area on the touch-sensitive display,the text entry interface area being displayed at a first predefined sizefor the text entry interface area, the text entry interface areaincluding a soft keyboard when displayed at the first predefined sizefor the text entry interface area; concurrently displaying a viewingarea adjacent to the text entry interface area on the touch-sensitivedisplay, the viewing area configured to display scrollable informationthat includes information entered via the text entry interface, theviewing area being displayed at a first size for the viewing area;detecting a first finger gesture on the touch-sensitive display, thefirst finger gesture including a continuous finger contact that startsin the viewing area, moves in a first direction towards the text entryinterface area, contacts a predefined boundary associated with the textentry interface area, and continues to move in the first direction aftercontacting the predefined boundary; in response to detecting thecontinuous finger contact starting in the viewing area and moving in thefirst direction towards the text entry interface area prior tocontacting the predefined boundary: scrolling information displayed inthe viewing area; maintaining the first size of the viewing area; andmaintaining the first predefined size of the text entry interface area;and, in response to detecting the continuous finger contact continuingto move in the first direction after contacting the predefined boundary:continuing to scroll information displayed in the viewing area;increasing the viewing area from the first size of the viewing area to asecond size of the viewing area, larger than the first size of theviewing area, in accordance with the continued movement of thecontinuous finger contact; and scrolling the text entry interface areato reduce the displayed text entry interface area from the firstpredefined size of the text entry interface area to a second size of thetext entry interface area, smaller than the first predefined size of thetext entry interface area, in accordance with the continued movement ofthe continuous finger contact.

In accordance with some embodiments, a computer readable storage mediumhas stored therein instructions which when executed by an electronicdevice with a touch-sensitive display, cause the device to: display atext entry interface area on the touch-sensitive display, the text entryinterface area being displayed at a first predefined size for the textentry interface area, the text entry interface area including a softkeyboard when displayed at the first predefined size for the text entryinterface area; concurrently display a viewing area adjacent to the textentry interface area on the touch-sensitive display, the viewing areaconfigured to display scrollable information that includes informationentered via the text entry interface, the viewing area being displayedat a first size for the viewing area; detect a first finger gesture onthe touch-sensitive display, the first finger gesture including acontinuous finger contact that starts in the viewing area, moves in afirst direction towards the text entry interface area, contacts apredefined boundary associated with the text entry interface area, andcontinues to move in the first direction after contacting the predefinedboundary; in response to detecting the continuous finger contactstarting in the viewing area and moving in the first direction towardsthe text entry interface area prior to contacting the predefinedboundary: scroll information displayed in the viewing area; maintain thefirst size of the viewing area; and maintain the first predefined sizeof the text entry interface area; and, in response to detecting thecontinuous finger contact continuing to move in the first directionafter contacting the predefined boundary: continue to scroll informationdisplayed in the viewing area; increase the viewing area from the firstsize of the viewing area to a second size of the viewing area, largerthan the first size of the viewing area, in accordance with thecontinued movement of the continuous finger contact; and scroll the textentry interface area to reduce the displayed text entry interface areafrom the first predefined size of the text entry interface area to asecond size of the text entry interface area, smaller than the firstpredefined size of the text entry interface area, in accordance with thecontinued movement of the continuous finger contact.

In accordance with some embodiments, a graphical user interface on anelectronic device with a touch-sensitive display, a memory, and one ormore processors to execute one or more programs stored in the memoryincludes a text entry interface area on the touch-sensitive display, thetext entry interface area being displayed at a first predefined size forthe text entry interface area, the text entry interface area including asoft keyboard when displayed at the first predefined size for the textentry interface area; a viewing area concurrently displayed adjacent tothe text entry interface area on the touch-sensitive display, theviewing area configured to display scrollable information that includesinformation entered via the text entry interface, the viewing area beingdisplayed at a first size for the viewing area; wherein: a first fingergesture is detected on the touch-sensitive display, the first fingergesture including a continuous finger contact that starts in the viewingarea, moves in a first direction towards the text entry interface area,contacts a predefined boundary associated with the text entry interfacearea, and continues to move in the first direction after contacting thepredefined boundary; in response to detection of the continuous fingercontact starting in the viewing area and moving in the first directiontowards the text entry interface area prior to contacting the predefinedboundary: information displayed in the viewing area is scrolled; thefirst size of the viewing area is maintained; and the first predefinedsize of the text entry interface area is maintained; and, in response todetection of the continuous finger contact continuing to move in thefirst direction after contacting the predefined boundary: scrolling ofinformation displayed in the viewing area is continued; the viewing areais increased from the first size of the viewing area to a second size ofthe viewing area, larger than the first size of the viewing area, inaccordance with the continued movement of the continuous finger contact;and the text entry interface area is scrolled to reduce the displayedtext entry interface area from the first predefined size of the textentry interface area to a second size of the text entry interface area,smaller than the first predefined size of the text entry interface area,in accordance with the continued movement of the continuous fingercontact.

Thus, electronic devices with touch-sensitive displays are provided withfaster, more efficient methods and interfaces for resizing a viewingarea and a text entry interface, thereby increasing the effectiveness,efficiency, and user satisfaction with such devices. Such methods andinterfaces may complement or replace conventional methods for resizing aviewing area and a text entry interface.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

For a better understanding of the aforementioned embodiments of theinvention as well as additional embodiments thereof, reference should bemade to the Description of Embodiments below, in conjunction with thefollowing drawings in which like reference numerals refer tocorresponding parts throughout the figures.

FIG. 1A is a block diagram illustrating a portable multifunction devicewith a touch-sensitive display in accordance with some embodiments.

FIG. 1B is a block diagram illustrating exemplary components for eventhandling in accordance with some embodiments.

FIG. 2 illustrates a portable multifunction device having a touch screenin accordance with some embodiments.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of an exemplary multifunction device with adisplay and a touch-sensitive surface in accordance with someembodiments.

FIG. 4 illustrates an exemplary user interface for a menu ofapplications on a portable multifunction device in accordance with someembodiments.

FIGS. 5A-5L illustrate exemplary user interfaces for resizing a viewingarea and a text entry interface in accordance with some embodiments.

FIGS. 6A-6D are flow diagrams illustrating a method of resizing aviewing area and a text entry interface in accordance with someembodiments.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

Many electronic devices include interfaces that have both a contentviewing area and a text entry interface area with a soft keyboard. Oftenthere is more content than can fit into the viewing area all at once.Typically, to see more of the content, the user scrolls the content orhides the text entry interface area to expand the viewing area. Butcompletely hiding and un-hiding the text entry interface area can becometedious. The embodiments described below allow the user to partiallyhide the text entry interface area, thereby expanding the viewing area,and then either hide most or all of the text entry interface area orrestore the text entry interface area to its original size. The userperforms a gesture that just scrolls the contents in the viewing area ifthe gesture remains entirely in the viewing area. If the gesture crossesa predefined demarcation (e.g., a boundary between the viewing area andthe text entry interface area), the viewing area and the text entryinterface area are concurrently resized. This gives the user morecontrol over how the viewing area and the text entry interface area areresized.

Below, FIGS. 1A-1B, 2, and 3 provide a description of exemplary devices.FIGS. 4 and 5A-5L illustrate exemplary user interfaces for resizing aviewing area and a text entry interface. FIGS. 6A-6D are flow diagramsillustrating a method of resizing a viewing area and a text entryinterface. The user interfaces in FIGS. 5A-5L are used to illustrate theprocesses in FIGS. 6A-6D.

Exemplary Devices

Reference will now be made in detail to embodiments, examples of whichare illustrated in the accompanying drawings. In the following detaileddescription, numerous specific details are set forth in order to providea thorough understanding of the present invention. However, it will beapparent to one of ordinary skill in the art that the present inventionmay be practiced without these specific details. In other instances,well-known methods, procedures, components, circuits, and networks havenot been described in detail so as not to unnecessarily obscure aspectsof the embodiments.

It will also be understood that, although the terms first, second, etc.may be used herein to describe various elements, these elements shouldnot be limited by these terms. These terms are only used to distinguishone element from another. For example, a first contact could be termed asecond contact, and, similarly, a second contact could be termed a firstcontact, without departing from the scope of the present invention. Thefirst contact and the second contact are both contacts, but they are notthe same contact.

The terminology used in the description of the invention herein is forthe purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is notintended to be limiting of the invention. As used in the description ofthe invention and the appended claims, the singular forms “a”, “an” and“the” are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless thecontext clearly indicates otherwise. It will also be understood that theterm “and/or” as used herein refers to and encompasses any and allpossible combinations of one or more of the associated listed items. Itwill be further understood that the terms “includes,” “including,”“comprises,” and/or “comprising,” when used in this specification,specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations,elements, and/or components, but do not preclude the presence oraddition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations,elements, components, and/or groups thereof.

As used herein, the term “if” may be construed to mean “when” or “upon”or “in response to determining” or “in response to detecting,” dependingon the context. Similarly, the phrase “if it is determined” or “if [astated condition or event] is detected” may be construed to mean “upondetermining” or “in response to determining” or “upon detecting [thestated condition or event]” or “in response to detecting [the statedcondition or event],” depending on the context.

Embodiments of electronic devices, user interfaces for such devices, andassociated processes for using such devices are described. In someembodiments, the device is a portable communications device, such as amobile telephone, that also contains other functions, such as PDA and/ormusic player functions. Exemplary embodiments of portable multifunctiondevices include, without limitation, the iPhone®, iPod Touch®, and iPad®devices from Apple Inc. of Cupertino, Calif. Other portable electronicdevices, such as laptops or tablet computers with touch-sensitivesurfaces (e.g., touch screen displays and/or touch pads), may also beused. It should also be understood that, in some embodiments, the deviceis not a portable communications device, but is a desktop computer witha touch-sensitive surface (e.g., a touch screen display and/or a touchpad).

In the discussion that follows, an electronic device that includes adisplay and a touch-sensitive surface is described. It should beunderstood, however, that the electronic device may include one or moreother physical user-interface devices, such as a physical keyboard, amouse and/or a joystick.

The device typically supports a variety of applications, such as one ormore of the following: a drawing application, a presentationapplication, a word processing application, a website creationapplication, a disk authoring application, a spreadsheet application, agaming application, a telephone application, a video conferencingapplication, an e-mail application, an instant messaging application, aworkout support application, a photo management application, a digitalcamera application, a digital video camera application, a web browsingapplication, a digital music player application, and/or a digital videoplayer application.

The various applications that may be executed on the device may use atleast one common physical user-interface device, such as thetouch-sensitive surface. One or more functions of the touch-sensitivesurface as well as corresponding information displayed on the device maybe adjusted and/or varied from one application to the next and/or withina respective application. In this way, a common physical architecture(such as the touch-sensitive surface) of the device may support thevariety of applications with user interfaces that are intuitive andtransparent to the user.

Attention is now directed toward embodiments of portable devices withtouch-sensitive displays. FIG. 1A is a block diagram illustratingportable multifunction device 100 with touch-sensitive displays 112 inaccordance with some embodiments. Touch-sensitive display 112 issometimes called a “touch screen” for convenience, and may also be knownas or called a touch-sensitive display system. Device 100 may includememory 102 (which may include one or more computer readable storagemediums), memory controller 122, one or more processing units (CPU's)120, peripherals interface 118, RF circuitry 108, audio circuitry 110,speaker 111, microphone 113, input/output (I/O) subsystem 106, otherinput or control devices 116, and external port 124. Device 100 mayinclude one or more optical sensors 164. These components maycommunicate over one or more communication buses or signal lines 103.

It should be appreciated that device 100 is only one example of aportable multifunction device, and that device 100 may have more orfewer components than shown, may combine two or more components, or mayhave a different configuration or arrangement of the components. Thevarious components shown in FIG. 1A may be implemented in hardware,software, or a combination of both hardware and software, including oneor more signal processing and/or application specific integratedcircuits.

Memory 102 may include high-speed random access memory and may alsoinclude non-volatile memory, such as one or more magnetic disk storagedevices, flash memory devices, or other non-volatile solid-state memorydevices. Access to memory 102 by other components of device 100, such asCPU 120 and the peripherals interface 118, may be controlled by memorycontroller 122.

Peripherals interface 118 can be used to couple input and outputperipherals of the device to CPU 120 and memory 102. The one or moreprocessors 120 run or execute various software programs and/or sets ofinstructions stored in memory 102 to perform various functions fordevice 100 and to process data.

In some embodiments, peripherals interface 118, CPU 120, and memorycontroller 122 may be implemented on a single chip, such as chip 104. Insome other embodiments, they may be implemented on separate chips.

RF (radio frequency) circuitry 108 receives and sends RF signals, alsocalled electromagnetic signals. RF circuitry 108 converts electricalsignals to/from electromagnetic signals and communicates withcommunications networks and other communications devices via theelectromagnetic signals. RF circuitry 108 may include well-knowncircuitry for performing these functions, including but not limited toan antenna system, an RF transceiver, one or more amplifiers, a tuner,one or more oscillators, a digital signal processor, a CODEC chipset, asubscriber identity module (SIM) card, memory, and so forth. RFcircuitry 108 may communicate with networks, such as the Internet, alsoreferred to as the World Wide Web (WWW), an intranet and/or a wirelessnetwork, such as a cellular telephone network, a wireless local areanetwork (LAN) and/or a metropolitan area network (MAN), and otherdevices by wireless communication. The wireless communication may useany of a plurality of communications standards, protocols andtechnologies, including but not limited to Global System for MobileCommunications (GSM), Enhanced Data GSM Environment (EDGE), high-speeddownlink packet access (HSDPA), high-speed uplink packet access (HSUPA),wideband code division multiple access (W-CDMA), code division multipleaccess (CDMA), time division multiple access (TDMA), Bluetooth, WirelessFidelity (Wi-Fi) (e.g., IEEE 802.11a, IEEE 802.11b, IEEE 802.11g and/orIEEE 802.11n), voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP), Wi-MAX, a protocolfor e-mail (e.g., Internet message access protocol (IMAP) and/or postoffice protocol (POP)), instant messaging (e.g., extensible messagingand presence protocol (XMPP), Session Initiation Protocol for InstantMessaging and Presence Leveraging Extensions (SIMPLE), Instant Messagingand Presence Service (IMPS)), and/or Short Message Service (SMS), or anyother suitable communication protocol, including communication protocolsnot yet developed as of the filing date of this document.

Audio circuitry 110, speaker 111, and microphone 113 provide an audiointerface between a user and device 100. Audio circuitry 110 receivesaudio data from peripherals interface 118, converts the audio data to anelectrical signal, and transmits the electrical signal to speaker 111.Speaker 111 converts the electrical signal to human-audible sound waves.Audio circuitry 110 also receives electrical signals converted bymicrophone 113 from sound waves. Audio circuitry 110 converts theelectrical signal to audio data and transmits the audio data toperipherals interface 118 for processing. Audio data may be retrievedfrom and/or transmitted to memory 102 and/or RF circuitry 108 byperipherals interface 118. In some embodiments, audio circuitry 110 alsoincludes a headset jack (e.g., 212, FIG. 2). The headset jack providesan interface between audio circuitry 110 and removable audioinput/output peripherals, such as output-only headphones or a headsetwith both output (e.g., a headphone for one or both ears) and input(e.g., a microphone).

I/O subsystem 106 couples input/output peripherals on device 100, suchas touch screen 112 and other input control devices 116, to peripheralsinterface 118. I/O subsystem 106 may include display controller 156 andone or more input controllers 160 for other input or control devices.The one or more input controllers 160 receive/send electrical signalsfrom/to other input or control devices 116. The other input controldevices 116 may include physical buttons (e.g., push buttons, rockerbuttons, etc.), dials, slider switches, joysticks, click wheels, and soforth. In some alternate embodiments, input controller(s) 160 may becoupled to any (or none) of the following: a keyboard, infrared port,USB port, and a pointer device such as a mouse. The one or more buttons(e.g., 208, FIG. 2) may include an up/down button for volume control ofspeaker 111 and/or microphone 113. The one or more buttons may include apush button (e.g., 206, FIG. 2).

Touch-sensitive display 112 provides an input interface and an outputinterface between the device and a user. Display controller 156 receivesand/or sends electrical signals from/to touch screen 112. Touch screen112 displays visual output to the user. The visual output may includegraphics, text, icons, video, and any combination thereof (collectivelytermed “graphics”). In some embodiments, some or all of the visualoutput may correspond to user-interface objects.

Touch screen 112 has a touch-sensitive surface, sensor or set of sensorsthat accepts input from the user based on haptic and/or tactile contact.Touch screen 112 and display controller 156 (along with any associatedmodules and/or sets of instructions in memory 102) detect contact (andany movement or breaking of the contact) on touch screen 112 andconverts the detected contact into interaction with user-interfaceobjects (e.g., one or more soft keys, icons, web pages or images) thatare displayed on touch screen 112. In an exemplary embodiment, a pointof contact between touch screen 112 and the user corresponds to a fingerof the user.

Touch screen 112 may use LCD (liquid crystal display) technology, LPD(light emitting polymer display) technology, or LED (light emittingdiode) technology, although other display technologies may be used inother embodiments. Touch screen 112 and display controller 156 maydetect contact and any movement or breaking thereof using any of aplurality of touch sensing technologies now known or later developed,including but not limited to capacitive, resistive, infrared, andsurface acoustic wave technologies, as well as other proximity sensorarrays or other elements for determining one or more points of contactwith touch screen 112. In an exemplary embodiment, projected mutualcapacitance sensing technology is used, such as that found in theiPhone®, iPod Touch®, and iPad® from Apple Inc. of Cupertino, Calif.

Touch screen 112 may have a video resolution in excess of 100 dpi. Insome embodiments, the touch screen has a video resolution ofapproximately 160 dpi. The user may make contact with touch screen 112using any suitable object or appendage, such as a stylus, a finger, andso forth. In some embodiments, the user interface is designed to workprimarily with finger-based contacts and gestures, which can be lessprecise than stylus-based input due to the larger area of contact of afinger on the touch screen. In some embodiments, the device translatesthe rough finger-based input into a precise pointer/cursor position orcommand for performing the actions desired by the user.

In some embodiments, in addition to the touch screen, device 100 mayinclude a touchpad (not shown) for activating or deactivating particularfunctions. In some embodiments, the touchpad is a touch-sensitive areaof the device that, unlike the touch screen, does not display visualoutput. The touchpad may be a touch-sensitive surface that is separatefrom touch screen 112 or an extension of the touch-sensitive surfaceformed by the touch screen.

Device 100 also includes power system 162 for powering the variouscomponents. Power system 162 may include a power management system, oneor more power sources (e.g., battery, alternating current (AC)), arecharging system, a power failure detection circuit, a power converteror inverter, a power status indicator (e.g., a light-emitting diode(LED)) and any other components associated with the generation,management and distribution of power in portable devices.

Device 100 may also include one or more optical sensors 164. FIG. 1Ashows an optical sensor coupled to optical sensor controller 158 in I/Osubsystem 106. Optical sensor 164 may include charge-coupled device(CCD) or complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS)phototransistors. Optical sensor 164 receives light from theenvironment, projected through one or more lens, and converts the lightto data representing an image. In conjunction with imaging module 143(also called a camera module), optical sensor 164 may capture stillimages or video. In some embodiments, an optical sensor is located onthe back of device 100, opposite touch screen display 112 on the frontof the device, so that the touch screen display may be used as aviewfinder for still and/or video image acquisition. In someembodiments, another optical sensor is located on the front of thedevice so that the user's image may be obtained for videoconferencingwhile the user views the other video conference participants on thetouch screen display.

Device 100 may also include one or more proximity sensors 166. FIG. 1Ashows proximity sensor 166 coupled to peripherals interface 118.Alternately, proximity sensor 166 may be coupled to input controller 160in I/O subsystem 106. In some embodiments, the proximity sensor turnsoff and disables touch screen 112 when the multifunction device isplaced near the user's ear (e.g., when the user is making a phone call).

Device 100 may also include one or more accelerometers 168. FIG. 1Ashows accelerometer 168 coupled to peripherals interface 118.Alternately, accelerometer 168 may be coupled to an input controller 160in I/O subsystem 106. In some embodiments, information is displayed onthe touch screen display in a portrait view or a landscape view based onan analysis of data received from the one or more accelerometers. Device100 optionally includes, in addition to accelerometer(s) 168, amagnetometer (not shown) and a GPS (or GLONASS or other globalnavigation system) receiver (not shown) for obtaining informationconcerning the location and orientation (e.g., portrait or landscape) ofdevice 100.

In some embodiments, the software components stored in memory 102include operating system 126, communication module (or set ofinstructions) 128, contact/motion module (or set of instructions) 130,graphics module (or set of instructions) 132, text input module (or setof instructions) 134, Global Positioning System (GPS) module (or set ofinstructions) 135, and applications (or sets of instructions) 136.Furthermore, in some embodiments memory 102 stores device/globalinternal state 157, as shown in FIGS. 1A and 3. Device/global internalstate 157 includes one or more of active application state, indicatingwhich applications, if any, are currently active; display state,indicating what applications, views or other information occupy variousregions of touch screen display 112; sensor state, including informationobtained from the device's various sensors and input control devices116; and location information concerning the device's location and/orattitude.

Operating system 126 (e.g., Darwin, RTXC, LINUX, UNIX, OS X, WINDOWS, oran embedded operating system such as VxWorks) includes various softwarecomponents and/or drivers for controlling and managing general systemtasks (e.g., memory management, storage device control, powermanagement, etc.) and facilitates communication between various hardwareand software components.

Communication module 128 facilitates communication with other devicesover one or more external ports 124 and also includes various softwarecomponents for handling data received by RF circuitry 108 and/orexternal port 124. External port 124 (e.g., Universal Serial Bus (USB),FIREWIRE, etc.) is adapted for coupling directly to other devices orindirectly over a network (e.g., the Internet, wireless LAN, etc.). Insome embodiments, the external port is a multi-pin (e.g., 30-pin)connector that is the same as, or similar to and/or compatible with the30-pin connector used on iPod (trademark of Apple Inc.) devices.

Contact/motion module 130 may detect contact with touch screen 112 (inconjunction with display controller 156) and other touch sensitivedevices (e.g., a touchpad or physical click wheel). Contact/motionmodule 130 includes various software components for performing variousoperations related to detection of contact, such as determining ifcontact has occurred (e.g., detecting a finger-down event), determiningif there is movement of the contact and tracking the movement across thetouch-sensitive surface (e.g., detecting one or more finger-draggingevents), and determining if the contact has ceased (e.g., detecting afinger-up event or a break in contact). Contact/motion module 130receives contact data from the touch-sensitive surface. Determiningmovement of the point of contact, which is represented by a series ofcontact data, may include determining speed (magnitude), velocity(magnitude and direction), and/or an acceleration (a change in magnitudeand/or direction) of the point of contact. These operations may beapplied to single contacts (e.g., one finger contacts) or to multiplesimultaneous contacts (e.g., “multitouch”/multiple finger contacts). Insome embodiments, contact/motion module 130 and display controller 156detect contact on a touchpad.

Contact/motion module 130 may detect a gesture input, by a user.Different gestures on the touch-sensitive surface have different contactpatterns. Thus, a gesture may be detected by detecting a particularcontact pattern. For example, detecting a finger tap gesture includesdetecting a finger-down event followed by detecting a finger-up (liftoff) event at the same position (or substantially the same position) asthe finger-down event (e.g., at the position of an icon). As anotherexample, detecting a finger swipe gesture on the touch-sensitive surfaceincludes detecting a finger-down event followed by detecting one or morefinger-dragging events, and subsequently followed by detecting afinger-up (lift off) event.

Graphics module 132 includes various known software components forrendering and displaying graphics on touch screen 112 or other display,including components for changing the intensity of graphics that aredisplayed. As used herein, the term “graphics” includes any object thatcan be displayed to a user, including without limitation text, webpages, icons (such as user-interface objects including soft keys),digital images, videos, animations and the like.

In some embodiments, graphics module 132 stores data representinggraphics to be used. Each graphic may be assigned a corresponding code.Graphics module 132 receives, from applications etc., one or more codesspecifying graphics to be displayed along with, if necessary, coordinatedata and other graphic property data, and then generates screen imagedata to output to display controller 156.

Text input module 134, which may be a component of graphics module 132,provides soft keyboards for entering text in various applications (e.g.,contacts 137, e-mail 140, IM 141, browser 147, and any other applicationthat needs text input).

GPS module 135 determines the location of the device and provides thisinformation for use in various applications (e.g., to telephone 138 foruse in location-based dialing, to camera 143 as picture/video metadata,and to applications that provide location-based services such as weatherwidgets, local yellow page widgets, and map/navigation widgets).

Applications 136 may include the following modules (or sets ofinstructions), or a subset or superset thereof:

-   -   contacts module 137 (sometimes called an address book or contact        list);    -   telephone module 138;    -   video conferencing module 139;    -   e-mail client module 140;    -   instant messaging (IM) module 141;    -   workout support module 142;    -   camera module 143 for still and/or video images;    -   image management module 144;    -   browser module 147;    -   calendar module 148;    -   widget modules 149, which may include one or more of: weather        widget 149-1, stocks widget 149-2, calculator widget 149-3,        alarm clock widget 149-4, dictionary widget 149-5, and other        widgets obtained by the user, as well as user-created widgets        149-6;    -   widget creator module 150 for making user-created widgets 149-6;    -   search module 151;    -   video and music player module 152, which may be made up of a        video player module and a music player module;    -   notes module 153;    -   map module 154; and/or    -   online video module 155.

Examples of other applications 136 that may be stored in memory 102include other word processing applications, other image editingapplications, drawing applications, presentation applications,JAVA-enabled applications, encryption, digital rights management, voicerecognition, and voice replication.

In conjunction with touch screen 112, display controller 156, contactmodule 130, graphics module 132, and text input module 134, contactsmodule 137 may be used to manage an address book or contact list (e.g.,stored in application internal state 192 of contacts module 137 inmemory 102 or memory 370), including: adding name(s) to the addressbook; deleting name(s) from the address book; associating telephonenumber(s), e-mail address(es), physical address(es) or other informationwith a name; associating an image with a name; categorizing and sortingnames; providing telephone numbers or e-mail addresses to initiateand/or facilitate communications by telephone 138, video conference 139,e-mail 140, or IM 141; and so forth.

In conjunction with RF circuitry 108, audio circuitry 110, speaker 111,microphone 113, touch screen 112, display controller 156, contact module130, graphics module 132, and text input module 134, telephone module138 may be used to enter a sequence of characters corresponding to atelephone number, access one or more telephone numbers in address book137, modify a telephone number that has been entered, dial a respectivetelephone number, conduct a conversation and disconnect or hang up whenthe conversation is completed. As noted above, the wirelesscommunication may use any of a plurality of communications standards,protocols and technologies.

In conjunction with RF circuitry 108, audio circuitry 110, speaker 111,microphone 113, touch screen 112, display controller 156, optical sensor164, optical sensor controller 158, contact module 130, graphics module132, text input module 134, contact list 137, and telephone module 138,videoconferencing module 139 includes executable instructions toinitiate, conduct, and terminate a video conference between a user andone or more other participants in accordance with user instructions.

In conjunction with RF circuitry 108, touch screen 112, displaycontroller 156, contact module 130, graphics module 132, and text inputmodule 134, e-mail client module 140 includes executable instructions tocreate, send, receive, and manage e-mail in response to userinstructions. In conjunction with image management module 144, e-mailclient module 140 makes it very easy to create and send e-mails withstill or video images taken with camera module 143.

In conjunction with RF circuitry 108, touch screen 112, displaycontroller 156, contact module 130, graphics module 132, and text inputmodule 134, the instant messaging module 141 includes executableinstructions to enter a sequence of characters corresponding to aninstant message, to modify previously entered characters, to transmit arespective instant message (for example, using a Short Message Service(SMS) or Multimedia Message Service (MMS) protocol for telephony-basedinstant messages or using XMPP, SIMPLE, or IMPS for Internet-basedinstant messages), to receive instant messages and to view receivedinstant messages. In some embodiments, transmitted and/or receivedinstant messages may include graphics, photos, audio files, video filesand/or other attachments as are supported in a MMS and/or an EnhancedMessaging Service (EMS). As used herein, “instant messaging” refers toboth telephony-based messages (e.g., messages sent using SMS or MMS) andInternet-based messages (e.g., messages sent using XMPP, SIMPLE, orIMPS).

In conjunction with RF circuitry 108, touch screen 112, displaycontroller 156, contact module 130, graphics module 132, text inputmodule 134, GPS module 135, map module 154, and music player module 146,workout support module 142 includes executable instructions to createworkouts (e.g., with time, distance, and/or calorie burning goals);communicate with workout sensors (sports devices); receive workoutsensor data; calibrate sensors used to monitor a workout; select andplay music for a workout; and display, store and transmit workout data.

In conjunction with touch screen 112, display controller 156, opticalsensor(s) 164, optical sensor controller 158, contact module 130,graphics module 132, and image management module 144, camera module 143includes executable instructions to capture still images or video(including a video stream) and store them into memory 102, modifycharacteristics of a still image or video, or delete a still image orvideo from memory 102.

In conjunction with touch screen 112, display controller 156, contactmodule 130, graphics module 132, text input module 134, and cameramodule 143, image management module 144 includes executable instructionsto arrange, modify (e.g., edit), or otherwise manipulate, label, delete,present (e.g., in a digital slide show or album), and store still and/orvideo images.

In conjunction with RF circuitry 108, touch screen 112, display systemcontroller 156, contact module 130, graphics module 132, and text inputmodule 134, browser module 147 includes executable instructions tobrowse the Internet in accordance with user instructions, includingsearching, linking to, receiving, and displaying web pages or portionsthereof, as well as attachments and other files linked to web pages.

In conjunction with RF circuitry 108, touch screen 112, display systemcontroller 156, contact module 130, graphics module 132, text inputmodule 134, e-mail client module 140, and browser module 147, calendarmodule 148 includes executable instructions to create, display, modify,and store calendars and data associated with calendars (e.g., calendarentries, to do lists, etc.) in accordance with user instructions.

In conjunction with RF circuitry 108, touch screen 112, display systemcontroller 156, contact module 130, graphics module 132, text inputmodule 134, and browser module 147, widget modules 149 aremini-applications that may be downloaded and used by a user (e.g.,weather widget 149-1, stocks widget 149-2, calculator widget 149-3,alarm clock widget 149-4, and dictionary widget 149-5) or created by theuser (e.g., user-created widget 149-6). In some embodiments, a widgetincludes an HTML (Hypertext Markup Language) file, a CSS (CascadingStyle Sheets) file, and a JavaScript file. In some embodiments, a widgetincludes an XML (Extensible Markup Language) file and a JavaScript file(e.g., Yahoo! Widgets).

In conjunction with RF circuitry 108, touch screen 112, display systemcontroller 156, contact module 130, graphics module 132, text inputmodule 134, and browser module 147, the widget creator module 150 may beused by a user to create widgets (e.g., turning a user-specified portionof a web page into a widget).

In conjunction with touch screen 112, display system controller 156,contact module 130, graphics module 132, and text input module 134,search module 151 includes executable instructions to search for text,music, sound, image, video, and/or other files in memory 102 that matchone or more search criteria (e.g., one or more user-specified searchterms) in accordance with user instructions.

In conjunction with touch screen 112, display system controller 156,contact module 130, graphics module 132, audio circuitry 110, speaker111, RF circuitry 108, and browser module 147, video and music playermodule 152 includes executable instructions that allow the user todownload and play back recorded music and other sound files stored inone or more file formats, such as MP3 or AAC files, and executableinstructions to display, present or otherwise play back videos (e.g., ontouch screen 112 or on an external, connected display via external port124). In some embodiments, device 100 may include the functionality ofan MP3 player, such as an iPod (trademark of Apple Inc.).

In conjunction with touch screen 112, display controller 156, contactmodule 130, graphics module 132, and text input module 134, notes module153 includes executable instructions to create and manage notes, to dolists, and the like in accordance with user instructions.

In conjunction with RF circuitry 108, touch screen 112, display systemcontroller 156, contact module 130, graphics module 132, text inputmodule 134, GPS module 135, and browser module 147, map module 154 maybe used to receive, display, modify, and store maps and data associatedwith maps (e.g., driving directions; data on stores and other points ofinterest at or near a particular location; and other location-baseddata) in accordance with user instructions.

In conjunction with touch screen 112, display system controller 156,contact module 130, graphics module 132, audio circuitry 110, speaker111, RF circuitry 108, text input module 134, e-mail client module 140,and browser module 147, online video module 155 includes instructionsthat allow the user to access, browse, receive (e.g., by streamingand/or download), play back (e.g., on the touch screen or on anexternal, connected display via external port 124), send an e-mail witha link to a particular online video, and otherwise manage online videosin one or more file formats, such as H.264. In some embodiments, instantmessaging module 141, rather than e-mail client module 140, is used tosend a link to a particular online video.

Each of the above identified modules and applications correspond to aset of executable instructions for performing one or more functionsdescribed above and the methods described in this application (e.g., thecomputer-implemented methods and other information processing methodsdescribed herein). These modules (i.e., sets of instructions) need notbe implemented as separate software programs, procedures or modules, andthus various subsets of these modules may be combined or otherwisere-arranged in various embodiments. In some embodiments, memory 102 maystore a subset of the modules and data structures identified above.Furthermore, memory 102 may store additional modules and data structuresnot described above.

In some embodiments, device 100 is a device where operation of apredefined set of functions on the device is performed exclusivelythrough a touch screen and/or a touchpad. By using a touch screen and/ora touchpad as the primary input control device for operation of device100, the number of physical input control devices (such as push buttons,dials, and the like) on device 100 may be reduced.

The predefined set of functions that may be performed exclusivelythrough a touch screen and/or a touchpad include navigation between userinterfaces. In some embodiments, the touchpad, when touched by the user,navigates device 100 to a main, home, or root menu from any userinterface that may be displayed on device 100. In such embodiments, thetouchpad may be referred to as a “menu button.” In some otherembodiments, the menu button may be a physical push button or otherphysical input control device instead of a touchpad.

FIG. 1B is a block diagram illustrating exemplary components for eventhandling in accordance with some embodiments. In some embodiments,memory 102 (in FIG. 1A) or 370 (FIG. 3) includes event sorter 170 (e.g.,in operating system 126) and a respective application 136-1 (e.g., anyof the aforementioned applications 137-151, 155, 380-390).

Event sorter 170 receives event information and determines theapplication 136-1 and application view 191 of application 136-1 to whichto deliver the event information. Event sorter 170 includes eventmonitor 171 and event dispatcher module 174. In some embodiments,application 136-1 includes application internal state 192, whichindicates the current application view(s) displayed on touch sensitivedisplay 112 when the application is active or executing. In someembodiments, device/global internal state 157 is used by event sorter170 to determine which application(s) is (are) currently active, andapplication internal state 192 is used by event sorter 170 to determineapplication views 191 to which to deliver event information.

In some embodiments, application internal state 192 includes additionalinformation, such as one or more of: resume information to be used whenapplication 136-1 resumes execution, user interface state informationthat indicates information being displayed or that is ready for displayby application 136-1, a state queue for enabling the user to go back toa prior state or view of application 136-1, and a redo/undo queue ofprevious actions taken by the user.

Event monitor 171 receives event information from peripherals interface118. Event information includes information about a sub-event (e.g., auser touch on touch-sensitive display 112, as part of a multi-touchgesture). Peripherals interface 118 transmits information it receivesfrom I/O subsystem 106 or a sensor, such as proximity sensor 166,accelerometer(s) 168, and/or microphone 113 (through audio circuitry110). Information that peripherals interface 118 receives from I/Osubsystem 106 includes information from touch-sensitive display 112 or atouch-sensitive surface.

In some embodiments, event monitor 171 sends requests to the peripheralsinterface 118 at predetermined intervals. In response, peripheralsinterface 118 transmits event information. In other embodiments,peripheral interface 118 transmits event information only when there isa significant event (e.g., receiving an input above a predeterminednoise threshold and/or for more than a predetermined duration).

In some embodiments, event sorter 170 also includes a hit viewdetermination module 172 and/or an active event recognizer determinationmodule 173.

Hit view determination module 172 provides software procedures fordetermining where a sub-event has taken place within one or more views,when touch sensitive display 112 displays more than one view. Views aremade up of controls and other elements that a user can see on thedisplay.

Another aspect of the user interface associated with an application is aset of views, sometimes herein called application views or userinterface windows, in which information is displayed and touch-basedgestures occur. The application views (of a respective application) inwhich a touch is detected may correspond to programmatic levels within aprogrammatic or view hierarchy of the application. For example, thelowest level view in which a touch is detected may be called the hitview, and the set of events that are recognized as proper inputs may bedetermined based, at least in part, on the hit view of the initial touchthat begins a touch-based gesture.

Hit view determination module 172 receives information related tosub-events of a touch-based gesture. When an application has multipleviews organized in a hierarchy, hit view determination module 172identifies a hit view as the lowest view in the hierarchy which shouldhandle the sub-event. In most circumstances, the hit view is the lowestlevel view in which an initiating sub-event occurs (i.e., the firstsub-event in the sequence of sub-events that form an event or potentialevent). Once the hit view is identified by the hit view determinationmodule, the hit view typically receives all sub-events related to thesame touch or input source for which it was identified as the hit view.

Active event recognizer determination module 173 determines which viewor views within a view hierarchy should receive a particular sequence ofsub-events. In some embodiments, active event recognizer determinationmodule 173 determines that only the hit view should receive a particularsequence of sub-events. In other embodiments, active event recognizerdetermination module 173 determines that all views that include thephysical location of a sub-event are actively involved views, andtherefore determines that all actively involved views should receive aparticular sequence of sub-events. In other embodiments, even if touchsub-events were entirely confined to the area associated with oneparticular view, views higher in the hierarchy would still remain asactively involved views.

Event dispatcher module 174 dispatches the event information to an eventrecognizer (e.g., event recognizer 180). In embodiments including activeevent recognizer determination module 173, event dispatcher module 174delivers the event information to an event recognizer determined byactive event recognizer determination module 173. In some embodiments,event dispatcher module 174 stores in an event queue the eventinformation, which is retrieved by a respective event receiver module182.

In some embodiments, operating system 126 includes event sorter 170.Alternatively, application 136-1 includes event sorter 170. In yet otherembodiments, event sorter 170 is a stand-alone module, or a part ofanother module stored in memory 102, such as contact/motion module 130.

In some embodiments, application 136-1 includes a plurality of eventhandlers 190 and one or more application views 191, each of whichincludes instructions for handling touch events that occur within arespective view of the application's user interface. Each applicationview 191 of the application 136-1 includes one or more event recognizers180. Typically, a respective application view 191 includes a pluralityof event recognizers 180. In other embodiments, one or more of eventrecognizers 180 are part of a separate module, such as a user interfacekit (not shown) or a higher level object from which application 136-1inherits methods and other properties. In some embodiments, a respectiveevent handler 190 includes one or more of: data updater 176, objectupdater 177, GUI updater 178, and/or event data 179 received from eventsorter 170. Event handler 190 may utilize or call data updater 176,object updater 177 or GUI updater 178 to update the application internalstate 192. Alternatively, one or more of the application views 191includes one or more respective event handlers 190. Also, in someembodiments, one or more of data updater 176, object updater 177, andGUI updater 178 are included in a respective application view 191.

A respective event recognizer 180 receives event information (e.g.,event data 179) from event sorter 170, and identifies an event from theevent information. Event recognizer 180 includes event receiver 182 andevent comparator 184. In some embodiments, event recognizer 180 alsoincludes at least a subset of: metadata 183, and event deliveryinstructions 188 (which may include sub-event delivery instructions).

Event receiver 182 receives event information from event sorter 170. Theevent information includes information about a sub-event, for example, atouch or a touch movement. Depending on the sub-event, the eventinformation also includes additional information, such as location ofthe sub-event. When the sub-event concerns motion of a touch the eventinformation may also include speed and direction of the sub-event. Insome embodiments, events include rotation of the device from oneorientation to another (e.g., from a portrait orientation to a landscapeorientation, or vice versa), and the event information includescorresponding information about the current orientation (also calleddevice attitude) of the device.

Event comparator 184 compares the event information to predefined eventor sub-event definitions and, based on the comparison, determines anevent or sub-event, or determines or updates the state of an event orsub-event. In some embodiments, event comparator 184 includes eventdefinitions 186. Event definitions 186 contain definitions of events(e.g., predefined sequences of sub-events), for example, event 1(187-1), event 2 (187-2), and others. In some embodiments, sub-events inan event 187 include, for example, touch begin, touch end, touchmovement, touch cancellation, and multiple touching. In one example, thedefinition for event 1 (187-1) is a double tap on a displayed object.The double tap, for example, comprises a first touch (touch begin) onthe displayed object for a predetermined phase, a first lift-off (touchend) for a predetermined phase, a second touch (touch begin) on thedisplayed object for a predetermined phase, and a second lift-off (touchend) for a predetermined phase. In another example, the definition forevent 2 (187-2) is a dragging on a displayed object. The dragging, forexample, comprises a touch (or contact) on the displayed object for apredetermined phase, a movement of the touch across touch-sensitivedisplay 112, and lift-off of the touch (touch end). In some embodiments,the event also includes information for one or more associated eventhandlers 190.

In some embodiments, event definition 187 includes a definition of anevent for a respective user-interface object. In some embodiments, eventcomparator 184 performs a hit test to determine which user-interfaceobject is associated with a sub-event. For example, in an applicationview in which three user-interface objects are displayed ontouch-sensitive display 112, when a touch is detected on touch-sensitivedisplay 112, event comparator 184 performs a hit test to determine whichof the three user-interface objects is associated with the touch(sub-event). If each displayed object is associated with a respectiveevent handler 190, the event comparator uses the result of the hit testto determine which event handler 190 should be activated. For example,event comparator 184 selects an event handler associated with thesub-event and the object triggering the hit test.

In some embodiments, the definition for a respective event 187 alsoincludes delayed actions that delay delivery of the event informationuntil after it has been determined whether the sequence of sub-eventsdoes or does not correspond to the event recognizer's event type.

When a respective event recognizer 180 determines that the series ofsub-events do not match any of the events in event definitions 186, therespective event recognizer 180 enters an event impossible, eventfailed, or event ended state, after which it disregards subsequentsub-events of the touch-based gesture. In this situation, other eventrecognizers, if any, that remain active for the hit view continue totrack and process sub-events of an ongoing touch-based gesture.

In some embodiments, a respective event recognizer 180 includes metadata183 with configurable properties, flags, and/or lists that indicate howthe event delivery system should perform sub-event delivery to activelyinvolved event recognizers. In some embodiments, metadata 183 includesconfigurable properties, flags, and/or lists that indicate how eventrecognizers may interact with one another. In some embodiments, metadata183 includes configurable properties, flags, and/or lists that indicatewhether sub-events are delivered to varying levels in the view orprogrammatic hierarchy.

In some embodiments, a respective event recognizer 180 activates eventhandler 190 associated with an event when one or more particularsub-events of an event are recognized. In some embodiments, a respectiveevent recognizer 180 delivers event information associated with theevent to event handler 190. Activating an event handler 190 is distinctfrom sending (and deferred sending) sub-events to a respective hit view.In some embodiments, event recognizer 180 throws a flag associated withthe recognized event, and event handler 190 associated with the flagcatches the flag and performs a predefined process.

In some embodiments, event delivery instructions 188 include sub-eventdelivery instructions that deliver event information about a sub-eventwithout activating an event handler. Instead, the sub-event deliveryinstructions deliver event information to event handlers associated withthe series of sub-events or to actively involved views. Event handlersassociated with the series of sub-events or with actively involved viewsreceive the event information and perform a predetermined process.

In some embodiments, data updater 176 creates and updates data used inapplication 136-1. For example, data updater 176 updates the telephonenumber used in contacts module 137, or stores a video file used in videoplayer module 145. In some embodiments, object updater 177 creates andupdates objects used in application 136-1. For example, object updater176 creates a new user-interface object or updates the position of auser-interface object. GUI updater 178 updates the GUI. For example, GUIupdater 178 prepares display information and sends it to graphics module132 for display on a touch-sensitive display.

In some embodiments, event handler(s) 190 includes or has access to dataupdater 176, object updater 177, and GUI updater 178. In someembodiments, data updater 176, object updater 177, and GUI updater 178are included in a single module of a respective application 136-1 orapplication view 191. In other embodiments, they are included in two ormore software modules.

It shall be understood that the foregoing discussion regarding eventhandling of user touches on touch-sensitive displays also applies toother forms of user inputs to operate multifunction devices 100 withinput-devices, not all of which are initiated on touch screens, e.g.,coordinating mouse movement and mouse button presses with or withoutsingle or multiple keyboard presses or holds, user movements taps,drags, scrolls, etc., on touch-pads, pen stylus inputs, movement of thedevice, oral instructions, detected eye movements, biometric inputs,and/or any combination thereof, which may be utilized as inputscorresponding to sub-events which define an event to be recognized.

FIG. 2 illustrates a portable multifunction device 100 having a touchscreen 112 in accordance with some embodiments. The touch screen maydisplay one or more graphics within user interface (UI) 200. In thisembodiment, as well as others described below, a user may select one ormore of the graphics by making a gesture on the graphics, for example,with one or more fingers 202 (not drawn to scale in the figure) or oneor more styluses 203 (not drawn to scale in the figure). In someembodiments, selection of one or more graphics occurs when the userbreaks contact with the one or more graphics. In some embodiments, thegesture may include one or more taps, one or more swipes (from left toright, right to left, upward and/or downward) and/or a rolling of afinger (from right to left, left to right, upward and/or downward) thathas made contact with device 100. In some embodiments, inadvertentcontact with a graphic may not select the graphic. For example, a swipegesture that sweeps over an application icon may not select thecorresponding application when the gesture corresponding to selection isa tap.

Device 100 may also include one or more physical buttons, such as “home”or menu button 204. As described previously, menu button 204 may be usedto navigate to any application 136 in a set of applications that may beexecuted on device 100. Alternatively, in some embodiments, the menubutton is implemented as a soft key in a GUI displayed on touch screen112.

In one embodiment, device 100 includes touch screen 112, menu button204, push button 206 for powering the device on/off and locking thedevice, volume adjustment button(s) 208, Subscriber Identity Module(SIM) card slot 210, head set jack 212, and docking/charging externalport 124. Push button 206 may be used to turn the power on/off on thedevice by depressing the button and holding the button in the depressedstate for a predefined time interval; to lock the device by depressingthe button and releasing the button before the predefined time intervalhas elapsed; and/or to unlock the device or initiate an unlock process.In an alternative embodiment, device 100 also may accept verbal inputfor activation or deactivation of some functions through microphone 113.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of an exemplary multifunction device with adisplay and a touch-sensitive surface in accordance with someembodiments. Device 300 need not be portable. In some embodiments,device 300 is a laptop computer, a desktop computer, a tablet computer,a multimedia player device, a navigation device, an educational device(such as a child's learning toy), a gaming system, or a control device(e.g., a home or industrial controller). Device 300 typically includesone or more processing units (CPU's) 310, one or more network or othercommunications interfaces 360, memory 370, and one or more communicationbuses 320 for interconnecting these components. Communication buses 320may include circuitry (sometimes called a chipset) that interconnectsand controls communications between system components. Device 300includes input/output (I/O) interface 330 comprising display 340, whichis typically a touch screen display. I/O interface 330 also may includea keyboard and/or mouse (or other pointing device) 350 and touchpad 355.Memory 370 includes high-speed random access memory, such as DRAM, SRAM,DDR RAM or other random access solid state memory devices; and mayinclude non-volatile memory, such as one or more magnetic disk storagedevices, optical disk storage devices, flash memory devices, or othernon-volatile solid state storage devices. Memory 370 may optionallyinclude one or more storage devices remotely located from CPU(s) 310. Insome embodiments, memory 370 stores programs, modules, and datastructures analogous to the programs, modules, and data structuresstored in memory 102 of portable multifunction device 100 (FIG. 1), or asubset thereof. Furthermore, memory 370 may store additional programs,modules, and data structures not present in memory 102 of portablemultifunction device 100. For example, memory 370 of device 300 maystore drawing module 380, presentation module 382, word processingmodule 384, website creation module 386, disk authoring module 388,and/or spreadsheet module 390, while memory 102 of portablemultifunction device 100 (FIG. 1) may not store these modules.

Each of the above identified elements in FIG. 3 may be stored in one ormore of the previously mentioned memory devices. Each of the aboveidentified modules corresponds to a set of instructions for performing afunction described above. The above identified modules or programs(i.e., sets of instructions) need not be implemented as separatesoftware programs, procedures or modules, and thus various subsets ofthese modules may be combined or otherwise re-arranged in variousembodiments. In some embodiments, memory 370 may store a subset of themodules and data structures identified above. Furthermore, memory 370may store additional modules and data structures not described above.

Attention is now directed towards embodiments of user interfaces (“UI”)that may be implemented on portable multifunction device 100.

FIG. 4 illustrates an exemplary user interface for a menu ofapplications on portable multifunction device 100 in accordance withsome embodiments. Similar user interfaces may be implemented on device300. In some embodiments, user interface 400 includes the followingelements, or a subset or superset thereof:

-   -   Signal strength indicator(s) 402 for wireless communication(s),        such as cellular and Wi-Fi signals;    -   Time 404;    -   Bluetooth indicator 405;    -   Battery status indicator 406;    -   Tray 408 with icons for frequently used applications, such as:        -   Phone 138, which may include an indicator 414 of the number            of missed calls or voicemail messages;        -   E-mail client 140, which may include an indicator 410 of the            number of unread e-mails;        -   Browser 147; and        -   Video and music player 152, also referred to as iPod            (trademark of Apple Inc.) module 152; and    -   Icons for other applications, such as:        -   IM 141;        -   Image management 144;        -   Camera 143;        -   Weather 149-1;        -   Stocks 149-2;        -   Workout support 142;        -   Calendar 148;        -   Alarm clock 149-4;        -   Map 154;        -   Notes 153;        -   Settings 412, which provides access to settings for device            100 and its various applications 136; and        -   Online video module 155, also referred to as YouTube            (trademark of Google Inc.) module 155.

Additionally, while the following examples are given primarily withreference to finger inputs (e.g., finger contacts, finger tap gestures,finger swipe gestures), it should be understood that, in someembodiments, one or more of the finger inputs are replaced with inputfrom another input device (e.g., a stylus input). For example, a swipegesture may be performed with a stylus instead of a finger. As anotherexample, a tap gesture may be performed with a stylus instead of afinger.

User Interfaces and Associated Processes

Attention is now directed towards embodiments of user interfaces (“UP”)and associated processes that may be implemented on an electronic devicewith a display and a touch-sensitive surface, such as device 300 orportable multifunction device 100.

FIGS. 5A-5L illustrate exemplary user interfaces for resizing a viewingarea and a text entry interface in accordance with some embodiments. Theuser interfaces in these figures are used to illustrate the processesdescribed below, including the processes in FIGS. 6A-6D.

FIG. 5A depicts a user interface (“UI”) 500 displayed on touch screen112 of device 100. In some embodiments, UI 500 is a user interface for amessaging (e.g., instant messaging, SMS or text messaging) applicationon device 100. For example, UI 500 as depicted in FIGS. 5A-5L is a userinterface for a messaging application.

UI 500 includes viewing area 502 and text entry interface area 504. Asdepicted in FIG. 5A, viewing area 502 has a height 502-A and text entryinterface area 504 has a height 504-A. The widths of viewing area 502and text entry interface area 504 are predefined and constant (for aparticular orientation of device 100).

The text entry interface area 504 includes text input field 506 and softkeyboard (or “virtual keyboard”) 508. The user of device 100 may enterand edit a new message in text input field 506 using keyboard 508 andthen send the message to the opposite party (e.g., to “Jane Doe”). Thesent message is displayed as one of one or more messages 510 (furtherdescribed below) in viewing area 502.

In some embodiments, height 504-A is a predefined height for aparticular orientation of device 100. For example, height 504-A is apredefined height for a text entry interface area 504, where text inputfield 506 and keyboard 508 are fully displayed.

One or more messages 510 between a user of device 100 and another partyare displayed in viewing area 502. For example, message 510-D and aportion of message 510-E between the user of device 100 and an oppositeparty “Jane Doe” at another device are displayed in viewing are 502.Messages 510 includes messages received by device 100 and messagescomposed using text entry interface area 508 and sent from device 100.When there are more messages 510 than can be displayed all at once inviewing area 510, messages 510 in viewing area 502 may be scrolled todisplay messages 510 that are out of view.

Gesture 512 is detected on touch screen 112. Gesture 512 includes acontact 512 (e.g., a finger contact) that is initially detected at aposition in viewing area 502, and movement 514 of contact 512 toward thedirection of text entry interface area 504 while contact 512 iscontinuously maintained with touch screen 112.

As contact 512 continues moving with movement 514, contact 512eventually contacts virtual boundary 505, which is associated with textentry interface area 504, and continues moving with movement 514-B (FIG.5B) after contacting virtual boundary 505. In some embodiments, contact512 contacts virtual boundary 505 when a predefined point in contact512, such as the centroid of contact 512, intersects with virtualboundary 505. In FIGS. 5A-5C, movement 514-A depicts the part ofmovement 514 prior to contact 512 contacting virtual boundary 505, andmovement 514-B depicts the part of movement 514 after contact 512contacts virtual boundary 505. It should be appreciated that contact 512is continuously maintained with touch screen 112 throughout movement514.

Virtual boundary 505 is a boundary or demarcation associated with textentry interface area 504. In some embodiments, virtual boundary 505 iscoincident with displayed boundary 507 between viewing area 502 and textentry interface area 504; virtual boundary 505 corresponds to displayedboundary 507. In some other embodiments, virtual boundary 505 is notcoincident with displayed boundary 507, and is not displayed on touchscreen 112 (e.g., as depicted in FIG. 5A). In some embodiments, thevirtual boundary may be located in text entry interface are 504 (e.g.,virtual boundary 505) or in viewing area 502 (e.g., virtual boundary509, which is also not displayed on touch screen 112).

In response to the detection of contact 512 moving with movement 514-A,viewing area 502 is scrolled, as shown in FIG. 5B, while the sizes (insome embodiments, the heights, which is the case here) of viewing area502 and text entry interface area 504 are maintained. As shown in FIG.5B, viewing area 502 is scrolled downward, in accordance with thedirection of movement 514-A, which results in a portion of message510-B, message 510-C, and a portion of message 510-D being displayed inviewing area 502. FIG. 5B also shows the instance when contact 512contacts virtual boundary 505.

In response to the detection of contact 512 moving with movement 514-B,viewing area 502 continues to be scrolled in accordance with thedirection of movement 514, and the sizes of viewing area 502 and textentry interface area 504 are changed, as shown in FIG. 5C. Viewing area502 is enlarged in height (e.g., to height 502-B at an instance duringmovement 514-B), and text entry interface area 504 is scrolled to reduceits height (e.g., to height 504-B at the instance during movement514-B). As text entry interface area 504 is reduced in height, virtualkeyboard 508 is scrolled out of view. A portion of message 510-A,messages 510-B thru 510-C, and a portion of message 510-D are displayedin viewing area 502.

In accordance with movement 514-B, text entry interface area 504 may beresized down to predefined height 504-D, and viewing area 502 up topredefined height 502-D (e.g., when contact 512 has reached the bottomarea of touch screen 112). FIG. 5G illustrates viewing area 502 and textentry interface area at heights 502-D and 504-D, respectively. Textentry interface area 504 at height 504-D includes text input field 506but not keyboard 508.

While contact 512 is continuously maintained, the movement of contact512 in gesture 512 may reverse direction. FIG. 5D depicts contact 512detected as moving with movement 516 in a direction that is opposite ofthe direction of movement 514, toward viewing area 502. In FIGS. 5D-5E,movement 516-A depicts the part of movement 516 prior to text entryinterface area 504 being resized to height 504-A. In FIG. 5F, movement516-B depicts the part of movement 516 after text entry interface area504 is resized to height 504-A; contact 512 breaks off from virtualboundary 505 as movement 516 continues after text entry interface area504 reaches height 504-A. It should be appreciated that movement 516 isa continuation of movement 514, with contact 512 continuously maintainedthroughout; both movements 514 and 516 are parts of one continuousgesture 512. It should also be appreciated that during gesture 512, themovement of contact 512 on touch screen 112 may pause. For example,contact 512 may move with movement 514, stop moving for some amount oftime (while still maintaining contact with touch screen 112), thenreverse direction and move with movement 516.

In response to contact 512 moving 516-A in the direction opposite ofmovement 514, viewing area 502 is scrolled in accordance with thedirection of movement 516-A, and the sizes of viewing area 502 and textentry interface area 504 are changed, as shown in FIG. 5E. Viewing area502 is reduced in height (e.g., to height 502-C at an instance duringmovement 516), and text entry interface area 504 is scrolled to increasein height (e.g., to height 504-C at the instance during movement 516).As text entry interface area 504 is enlarged in height, more and more ofvirtual keyboard 508 is scrolled into view. A portion of message 510-A,messages 510-B thru 510-C, and a portion of message 510-D are displayedin viewing area 502.

In accordance with movement 516, viewing area 502 may be resized down topredefined height 502-A, and text entry interface area 504 resized up topredefined height 504-A. When, in accordance with movement 516-A, textentry interface area 504 is resized to predefined height 504-A andviewing area 502 is resized to height 502-A, the heights of viewing area502 and text entry interface area 504 are maintained at heights 502-Aand 504-A, respectively, during movement 516-B. Contact 512 breaks offfrom virtual boundary 505 as movement 516-B continues, and viewing area502 is scrolled in accordance with movement 516-B, as shown in FIG. 5F.

While contact 512 is moving (with movement 514 or 516) after havingcontacted virtual boundary 505, and text entry interface area 504 is notat size 504-A or 504-D (and correspondingly, viewing area 502 is not atsize 502-A or 502-D, respectively), contact 512 may cease to be detected(e.g., due to contact 512 being released from touch screen 112).Depending on whether one or more predefined conditions are satisfied, inresponse to the release of contact 512, text entry interface area 504 isresized to size 504-A and viewing area is resized to size 502-A, or textentry interface area 504 is resized to size 504-D and viewing area isresized to size 502-D. For example, if contact 512 is released at theposition shown in FIG. 5C or 5D, text entry interface area is resized to504-D and viewing area is resized to size 502-D, in response to contact512 being released, if one or more conditions are satisfied, as shown inFIG. 5G. If the one or more conditions are not satisfied, text entryinterface area is resized to 504-A and viewing area is resized to size502-A in response to contact 512 being released, as shown in FIG. 5H.

In some embodiments, the one or more conditions are that, when detectionof contact 512 ceases, the size of viewing area 502 is larger than thesize of viewing area 502 at height 502-A. For example, the condition(s)are satisfied if the height of viewing area 502 is more than height502-A by any amount. If the condition(s) are satisfied, text entryinterface area is displayed at height 504-D and viewing area isdisplayed at height 502-D in response to detection of contact 512ceasing.

In some embodiments, the one or more conditions are that, when detectionof contact 512 ceases, the size of viewing area 502 is larger than thesize of viewing area 502 at height 502-A and contact 512 is stationaryimmediately prior to ceasing to detect contact 512. For example, thecondition(s) are satisfied if the height of viewing area 502 is morethan height 502-A by any amount and contact 512 is not movingimmediately prior to the release of contact 512. If the condition(s) aresatisfied, text entry interface area is displayed at height 504-D andviewing area is displayed at height 502-D in response to detection ofcontact 512 ceasing.

In some embodiments, the one or more conditions are that, when detectionof contact 512 ceases, contact 512 is moving toward text entry interfacearea 504 immediately prior to ceasing to detect contact 512. Forexample, the condition(s) are satisfied when contact 512 is moving withmovement 514-B. If the condition(s) are satisfied, text entry interfacearea is displayed at height 504-D and viewing area is displayed atheight 502-D in response to detection of contact 512 ceasing.

FIG. 5I depicts viewing area 502 at height 502-A and text entryinterface area 504 at height 504-A. Viewing area 502 in FIG. 5I hasdisplayed within it messages 510-B and 510-C, and portions of messages510-A and 510-D. FIG. 5I also depicts gesture 518 detected on touchscreen 112 in viewing area 502. Gesture 518 includes a continuouscontact (e.g., a finger contact) that moves 520 from position 518-A toposition 518-B, and is released at position 518-B, without evercontacting virtual boundary 505. In response to the detection of gesture518, the contents in viewing area 502 is scrolled, as shown in FIG. 5J.Viewing area 502 in FIG. 5J has displayed within messages 510-A and510-B, and a portion of message 510-C. Viewing area 502 and text entryinterface area 504 remain at heights 502-A and 504-A, respectively.Similarly, if viewing area 502 and text entry interface area 504 are atheights 502-D and 504-D, respectively, and a gesture like gesture 518,where the contact does not ever contact virtual boundary 505, isdetected, the contents in viewing area 502 is scrolled in response tothe detection of the gesture without resizing viewing area 502 and textentry interface area 504, in a similar manner as that shown in FIGS.5I-5J.

FIG. 5K depicts viewing area 502 and text entry interface area 504 atheights 502-D and 504-D, respectively, with text input field 506displayed in text entry interface area 504. Messages 510-A thru 510-Dare displayed in viewing area 502. FIG. 5K also depicts gesture 522detected on touch screen 112 on text input field 506. In someembodiments, gesture 522 is a tap gesture. In response to the detectionof gesture 522, text entry interface area 504 is resized to height504-A, and viewing area 502 is resized to height 502-A, as shown in FIG.5L. In FIG. 5L, after the resizing, the message 510-D and a portion ofmessage 510-C are hidden by the resized text entry interface area 504,which now includes text input field 506 and keyboard 508.

FIGS. 6A-6D are flow diagrams illustrating a method 600 of resizing aviewing area and a text entry interface in accordance with someembodiments. The method 600 is performed at an electronic device (e.g.,device 300, FIG. 3, or portable multifunction device 100, FIG. 1) with adisplay and a touch-sensitive surface. In some embodiments, the displayis a touch screen display and the touch-sensitive surface is on thedisplay. In some embodiments, the display is separate from thetouch-sensitive surface. Some operations in method 600 may be combinedand/or the order of some operations may be changed.

As described below, the method 600 provides an intuitive way to resize aviewing area and a text entry interface. The method reduces thecognitive burden on a user when resizing a viewing area and a text entryinterface, thereby creating a more efficient human-machine interface.For battery-operated electronic devices, enabling a user to resize aviewing area and a text entry interface faster and more efficientlyconserves power and increases the time between battery charges.

The device displays (602) a text entry interface area on thetouch-sensitive display. The text entry interface area is displayed at afirst predefined size for the text entry interface area, and includes asoft keyboard (e.g., a QWERTY, Dvorak, Japanese, or Chinese keyboard)when the text entry interface area is displayed at the first predefinedsize for the text entry interface area. For example, as depicted in FIG.5A, text entry interface area 504 is displayed on touch screen 112. Textentry interface area 504 has a predefined size for text entry interfacearea 504 that includes a predefined width and predefined height 504-A.When text entry interface area 504 is displayed at predefined height504-A, text entry interface area 504 includes soft keyboard 508.

In some embodiments, the text entry interface area includes a text inputfield (e.g., text input field 506, FIG. 5A) (604).

The device concurrently displays (606) a viewing area adjacent to thetext entry interface area on the touch-sensitive display, the viewingarea configured to display scrollable information that includesinformation entered via the text entry interface, the viewing area beingdisplayed at a first size for the viewing area. As shown in FIG. 5A,viewing area 502 is displayed, concurrently with and adjacent to textentry interface area 504, at a size for viewing area 502 that includesthe predefined width and height 502-A. Messages 510, which arescrollable, are displayed in viewing area 502. Messages 510 includesmessages composed using text entry interface area 508 and sent fromdevice 100.

The device detects (608) a first finger gesture on the touch-sensitivedisplay. The first finger gesture includes a continuous finger contactthat starts in the viewing area, moves in a first direction towards thetext entry interface area, contacts a predefined boundary associatedwith the text entry interface area, and continues to move in the firstdirection after contacting the predefined boundary. For example, asshown in FIGS. 5A-5C, gesture 512 is detected on touch screen 112.Gesture 512 includes contact 512 that starts in viewing area 502, moves514-A in the direction of text entry interface area 504, contactsvirtual boundary 505, and continues to move 514-B in the direction oftext entry interface area 504 after contacting virtual boundary 505.

In some embodiments, the predefined boundary associated with the textentry interface area corresponds to a displayed boundary between theviewing area and the text entry interface area (e.g., boundary line 507between viewing area 502 and text entry interface area 504, FIG. 5A).

In some embodiments, the predefined boundary associated with the textentry interface area is not visibly displayed on the touch screendisplay, such as a boundary line (or area) that is displaced apredefined distance into the text entry interface area relative to thedisplayed boundary between the viewing area and the text entry interfacearea (e.g., dotted line 505 within text entry interface area 504, FIG.5A).

In some embodiments, the predefined boundary associated with the textentry interface area is not visibly displayed on the touch screendisplay, such as a boundary line (or area) that is displaced apredefined distance into the viewing area relative to the displayedboundary between the viewing area and the text entry interface area(e.g., dotted line 509 within viewing area 502, FIG. 5A).

In response to detecting the continuous finger contact starting in theviewing area and moving in the first direction towards the text entryinterface area prior to contacting the predefined boundary (610), thedevice scrolls (612) information displayed in the viewing area,maintains (614) the first size of the viewing area, and maintains (616)the first predefined size of the text entry interface area. As depictedin FIGS. 5A-5B, for example, in response to contact 512 moving 514-A inthe direction of text entry interface area 504 and prior to contact 512contacting virtual boundary 505, messages 510 in viewing area 502 arescrolled, in accordance with the direction of movement 514-A. Viewingarea 502 and text entry interface area 504 maintain their heights at502-A and 504-A, respectively.

In response to detecting the continuous finger contact continuing tomove in the first direction after contacting the predefined boundary(618), the device continues to scroll (620) information displayed in theviewing area; increases (622) the viewing area from the first size ofthe viewing area to a second size of the viewing area, larger than thefirst size of the viewing area, in accordance with the continuedmovement of the continuous finger contact; and scrolls (624) the textentry interface area to reduce the displayed text entry interface areafrom the first predefined size of the text entry interface area to asecond size of the text entry interface area, smaller than the firstpredefined size of the text entry interface area, in accordance with thecontinued movement of the continuous finger contact. As depicted inFIGS. 5B-5C, for example, in response to contact 512 continuing to move514-B in the direction of text entry interface area 504 after contact512 contacts virtual boundary 505, messages 510 in viewing area 502continues to be scrolled, in accordance with the direction of movement514-B. Viewing area 502 is resized to height 502-B, which is larger thanheight 502-A, in accordance with the direction of movement 514-B. Textentry interface area 504 is scrolled and resized to height 504-B, whichis smaller than height 504-A, in accordance with the direction ofmovement 514-B.

In some embodiments, in response to detecting the continuous fingercontact continuing to move in the first direction after contacting thepredefined boundary (618), the device increases (626) the viewing areafrom the first size of the viewing area up to a third predefined size ofthe viewing area, larger than the first size of the viewing area, inaccordance with the continued movement of the continuous finger contact;and scrolls (628) the text entry interface area to reduce the displayedtext entry interface area from the first predefined size of the textentry interface area down to a third predefined size of the text entryinterface area, smaller than the first predefined size of the text entryinterface area, in accordance with the continued movement of thecontinuous finger contact. In other words, in response to detectingcontinued movement of the finger contact in the first direction (e.g.,movement 514-B), the viewing area expands until a maximum size (e.g.,the size at height 504-D) is reached and, concurrently, the text entryinterface area shrinks until a minimum size is reached (e.g., the sizeat height 504-D, where just the text input field, without the softkeyboard, is displayed). In response to detecting continued movement ofthe finger contact in the first direction after the viewing area hasbeen maximized and the text entry input area has been minimized, thedevice continues scrolling information displayed in the view areawithout further increasing the size of the viewing area and withoutscrolling or further decreasing the size of the text entry interfacearea.

In some embodiments, after detecting the continuous finger contactcontinuing to move in the first direction after contacting thepredefined boundary, the device ceases to detect (630) the continuousfinger contact (e.g., detecting lift-off of the finger contact). Forexample, during movement 514-B, contact 512 may be released from touchscreen 112 (i.e., lifted off).

In some embodiments, in response to ceasing to detect the continuousfinger contact (632): when one or more predefined conditions aresatisfied, the device displays (634) the viewing area at a predefinedthird size of the viewing area, larger than the first size of theviewing area. For example, when contact 512 ceases to be detected,viewing area 502 may be displayed at height 502-D, which is larger thanheight 502-A. In some embodiments, the text entry interface area isminimized (e.g., just the text input field is displayed, withoutdisplaying the soft keyboard). In some embodiments, the text entryinterface area is no longer displayed.

When the one or more predefined conditions are not satisfied, the devicedisplays (636) the viewing area at the first size of the viewing areaand concurrently displaying the text entry interface area at the firstpredefined size of the text entry interface area. In some embodiments,the text entry interface area is redisplayed at the first predefinedsize. In some embodiments, the text entry interface area is scrolled ina direction opposite the first direction until the text entry interfacearea returns to the first predefined size. For example, when contact 512ceases to be detected, viewing area 502 may be displayed at height502-A, and text entry interface area may be concurrently displayed atheight 504-A.

In some embodiments, in response to ceasing to detect the continuousfinger contact (632): when the one or more predefined conditions aresatisfied, the device displays (638) the text entry interface area at apredefined third size of the text entry interface area, smaller than thefirst size of the text entry interface area. For example, when contact512 ceases to be detected, viewing area 502 may be displayed at height502-D, and concurrently text entry interface area 504 may be displayedat height 504-D, which is smaller than height 504-A.

In some embodiments, the text entry interface area includes a text inputfield (e.g., text input box 506, FIG. 5A) (640), and in response toceasing to detect the continuous finger contact (632): when the one ormore predefined conditions are satisfied, the device displays (642) thetext input field without displaying the soft keyboard in the text entryinterface area. For example, when contact 512 ceases to be detected,viewing area 502 may be displayed at height 502-D, and concurrently textentry interface area 504 may be displayed at height 504-D. When textentry interface area 504 is displayed at height 504-D, keyboard 508 isnot included in text entry interface area 504, as shown in FIG. 5G.

In some embodiments, the one or more predefined conditions include: whendetection of the continuous finger contact ceases, the size of theviewing area is larger than the first size of the viewing area (644).For example, if contact 512 is lifted off when viewing area 502 is at aheight larger than height 502-A by any amount, viewing area 502 isdisplayed at size 502-D in response to detecting the lift-off.

In some embodiments, the one or more predefined conditions include: whendetection of the continuous finger contact ceases, the size of theviewing area is larger than the first size of the viewing area and thefinger contact is stationary immediately prior to ceasing to detect thecontinuous finger contact (646). For example, if contact 512 is liftedoff when viewing area 502 is at a height larger than height 502-A by anyamount and contact 512 is stationary (not moving on touch screen 112)immediately prior to the lift-off, viewing area 502 is displayed at size502-D in response to detecting the lift-off.

In some embodiments, the one or more predefined conditions include: whendetection of the continuous finger contact ceases, the finger contact ismoving in the first direction immediately prior to ceasing to detect thecontinuous finger contact (648). For example, if contact 512 is liftedoff when moving with movement 514-B, viewing area 502 is displayed atsize 502-D in response to the lift-off.

In some embodiments, while displaying the text entry interface area atthe first predefined size for the text entry interface area andconcurrently displaying the viewing area at the first size for theviewing area, the device detects (650) a second finger gesture on theviewing area, the entire second finger gesture occurring within theviewing area. In response to detecting the second finger gesture (652),the device scrolls (654) information displayed in the viewing area,maintains (656) the first size of the viewing area, and maintains (658)the first predefined size of the text entry interface area. For example,as shown in FIGS. 5I-5J, in response to the detection of gesture 518,which remains entirely within viewing area 502, messages 510 in viewingare 502 are scrolled, while viewing area 502 and text entry interfacearea 504 maintain heights 502-A and 504-A, respectively.

In some embodiments, after detecting the continuous finger contactcontinuing to move in the first direction after contacting thepredefined boundary, the device detects (660) the continuous fingercontact moving in a direction opposite the first direction (e.g., thefinger contact reverses direction while scrolling the viewing area andthe text entry interface area). For example, as shown in FIGS. 5C-5D,contact 512 reverses direction, going from movement 514-B to movement516-A.

In response to detecting the continuous finger contact moving in thedirection opposite the first direction (662): the device scrolls (664)information displayed in the viewing area in accordance with themovement of the continuous finger contact in the direction opposite thefirst direction, decreases (666) the viewing area size in accordancewith the movement of the continuous finger contact in the directionopposite the first direction, and scrolls (668) the text entry interfacearea to increase the displayed text entry interface area size, inaccordance with the movement of the continuous finger contact in thedirection opposite the first direction. For example, in response todetecting contact 512 moving with movement 516-A, messages 510 inviewing area 502 are scrolled in the direction of movement 516-A,viewing area 502 is resized to height 502-C, and text entry interfacearea is resized to height 502-C, as shown in FIG. 5E.

In response to detecting the continuous finger contact moving in thedirection opposite the first direction (662): the device decreases (670)the viewing area down to the first size of the viewing area inaccordance with the continued movement of the continuous finger contact,and scrolls (672) the text entry interface area to increase thedisplayed text entry interface area up to the first predefined size ofthe text entry interface area in accordance with the continued movementof the continuous finger contact. In other words, in response todetecting movement of the finger contact in a direction opposite thefirst direction, the viewing area contracts until the first size of theviewing area (e.g., the size at height 502-A) is reached and,concurrently, the text entry interface area expands until the firstpredefined size of the text entry interface area is reached (e.g., thesize at height 504-A) (e.g., where both the text input field and thesoft keyboard are displayed). In response to detecting continuedmovement of the finger contact in the direction opposite the firstdirection after the viewing area has been minimized and the text entryinput area has been maximized, the device continues scrollinginformation displayed in the view area without further decreasing thesize of the viewing area and without scrolling or further increasing thesize of the text entry interface area. For example, once text entryinterface area 504 is resized to height 504-A in accordance withmovement 516-A, contact 512 breaks off virtual boundary 505 and moveswith movement 516-B, as shown in FIG. 5F. Messages 510 in viewing area502 are scrolled in accordance with movement 516-B, but viewing area 502and text entry interface area 504 are not resized in response tomovement 516-B.

It should be understood that the particular order in which theoperations in FIGS. 6A-6D have been described is merely exemplary and isnot intended to indicate that the described order is the only order inwhich the operations could be performed. One of ordinary skill in theart would recognize various ways to reorder the operations describedherein.

The operations in the information processing methods described above maybe implemented by running one or more functional modules in informationprocessing apparatus such as general purpose processors or applicationspecific chips. These modules, combinations of these modules, and/ortheir combination with general hardware (e.g., as described above withrespect to FIGS. 1A and 3) are all included within the scope ofprotection of the invention.

The operations described above with reference to FIGS. 6A-6D may beimplemented by components depicted in FIGS. 1A-1B. For example,detection operation 608, scrolling operations 612, 620, and 624,maintaining operations 614 and 616, and increasing operation 622 may beimplemented by event sorter 170, event recognizer 180, and event handler190. Event monitor 171 in event sorter 170 detects a contact ontouch-sensitive display 112, and event dispatcher module 174 deliversthe event information to application 136-1. A respective eventrecognizer 180 of application 136-1 compares the event information torespective event definitions 186, and determines whether a first contactat a first location on the touch-sensitive surface corresponds to apredefined event or sub-event, such as selection of an object on a userinterface. When a respective predefined event or sub-event is detected,event recognizer 180 activates an event handler 190 associated with thedetection of the event or sub-event. Event handler 190 may utilize orcall data updater 176 or object updater 177 to update the applicationinternal state 192. In some embodiments, event handler 190 accesses arespective GUI updater 178 to update what is displayed by theapplication. Similarly, it would be clear to a person having ordinaryskill in the art how other processes can be implemented based on thecomponents depicted in FIGS. 1A-1B.

The foregoing description, for purpose of explanation, has beendescribed with reference to specific embodiments. However, theillustrative discussions above are not intended to be exhaustive or tolimit the invention to the precise forms disclosed. Many modificationsand variations are possible in view of the above teachings. Theembodiments were chosen and described in order to best explain theprinciples of the invention and its practical applications, to therebyenable others skilled in the art to best utilize the invention andvarious embodiments with various modifications as are suited to theparticular use contemplated.

1-15. (canceled)
 16. A method, comprising: at an electronic device witha touch-sensitive display: displaying a text entry interface area on thetouch-sensitive display, the text entry interface area being displayedat a first predefined size for the text entry interface area, the textentry interface area including a text input field when displayed at thefirst predefined size for the text entry interface area; concurrentlydisplaying a viewing area adjacent to the text entry interface area onthe touch-sensitive display, the viewing area configured to displayscrollable information that includes information entered via the textentry interface, the viewing area being displayed at a first size forthe viewing area; detecting a first finger gesture on thetouch-sensitive display at the text input field; in response todetecting the first finger gesture at the text input field: decreasingthe viewing area from the first size of the viewing area to a secondsize of the viewing area, smaller than the first size of the viewingarea; and increasing the text entry interface area from the firstpredefined size of the text entry interface area to a second predefinedsize, the text entry interface area including the text input field and asoft keyboard when displayed at the second predefined size.
 17. Themethod of claim 16, further comprising: scrolling the viewing area whendecreasing the viewing area from the first size to the second size; andscrolling the text entry interface area when increasing the text entryinterface area from the first predefined size to the second predefinedsize.
 18. The method of claim 16, further wherein: the first fingergesture comprises a tap gesture.
 19. The method of claim 16, furthercomprising: detecting a second gesture on the touch-sensitive display,the second finger gesture including a continuous finger contact thatstarts in the viewing area, moves in a first direction towards the textentry interface area, contacts a predefined boundary associated with thetext entry interface area, and continues to move in the first directionafter contacting the predefined boundary; in response to detecting thecontinuous finger contact starting in the viewing area and moving in thefirst direction towards the text entry interface area prior tocontacting the predefined boundary: scrolling information displayed inthe viewing area; maintaining the second size of the viewing area; andmaintaining the second predefined size of the text entry interface area.20. The method of claim 19, further comprising: in response to detectingthe continuous finger contact continuing to move in the first directionafter contacting the predefined boundary: continuing to scrollinformation displayed in the viewing area; increasing the viewing areafrom the second size of the viewing area to the first size of theviewing area, larger than the second size of the viewing area, inaccordance with the continued movement of the continuous finger contact;and scrolling the text entry interface area to reduce the displayed textentry interface area from the second predefined size of the text entryinterface area to the first size of the text entry interface area,smaller than the first predefined size of the text entry interface area,in accordance with the continued movement of the continuous fingercontact.
 21. The method of claim 16, further wherein: widths of theviewing area and the text entry interface area are predefined andconstant for a particular orientation of the electronic device.
 22. Themethod of claim 19, further wherein: the second gesture contacts thepredefined boundary associated with the text entry interface area when apredefined point in the continuous finger contact intersects thepredefined boundary.
 23. The method of claim 22, further wherein: thepredefined point is a centroid of the continuous finger contact.
 24. Themethod of claim 19, further wherein: the predefined boundary iscoincident with a displayed boundary between the viewing area and thetext entry interface area.
 25. The method of claim 19, further wherein:the predefined boundary is not coincident with a displayed boundarybetween the viewing area and the text entry interface area and is notdisplayed on the touch-sensitive display.
 26. The method of claim 19,further wherein: the predefined boundary is located within the textentry interface area.
 27. The method of claim 19, further wherein: thepredefined boundary is located within the viewing area.
 28. Anon-transitory computer-readable storage medium comprising one or moreprograms for execution by one or more processors of an electronic devicewith a touch-sensitive display, the one or more programs includinginstructions which, when executed by the one or more processors, causethe electronic device to: display a text entry interface area on thetouch-sensitive display, the text entry interface area being displayedat a first predefined size for the text entry interface area, the textentry interface area including a text input field when displayed at thefirst predefined size for the text entry interface area; concurrentlydisplay a viewing area adjacent to the text entry interface area on thetouch-sensitive display, the viewing area configured to displayscrollable information that includes information entered via the textentry interface, the viewing area being displayed at a first size forthe viewing area; detect a first finger gesture on the touch-sensitivedisplay at the text input field; in response to detecting the firstfinger gesture at the text input field: decrease the viewing area fromthe first size of the viewing area to a second size of the viewing area,smaller than the first size of the viewing area; and increase the textentry interface area from the first predefined size of the text entryinterface area to a second predefined size, the text entry interfacearea including the text input field and a soft keyboard when displayedat the second predefined size.
 29. An electronic device, comprising: atouch-sensitive display; one or more processors; memory; and one or moreprograms stored in memory, the one or more programs includinginstructions which, when executed by the one or more processors, causethe electronic device to: display a text entry interface area on thetouch-sensitive display, the text entry interface area being displayedat a first predefined size for the text entry interface area, the textentry interface area including a text input field when displayed at thefirst predefined size for the text entry interface area; concurrentlydisplay a viewing area adjacent to the text entry interface area on thetouch-sensitive display, the viewing area configured to displayscrollable information that includes information entered via the textentry interface, the viewing area being displayed at a first size forthe viewing area; detect a first finger gesture on the touch-sensitivedisplay at the text input field; in response to detecting the firstfinger gesture at the text input field: decrease the viewing area fromthe first size of the viewing area to a second size of the viewing area,smaller than the first size of the viewing area; and increase the textentry interface area from the first predefined size of the text entryinterface area to a second predefined size, the text entry interfacearea including the text input field and a soft keyboard when displayedat the second predefined size.
 30. A graphical user interface on anelectronic device with a touch-sensitive display, a memory, and one ormore processors to execute one or more programs stored in the memory,the graphical user interface comprising: a text entry interface area onthe touch-sensitive display, the text entry interface area beingdisplayed at a first predefined size for the text entry interface area,the text entry interface area including a text input field whendisplayed at the first predefined size for the text entry interfacearea; a viewing area adjacent to the text entry interface area on thetouch-sensitive display, the viewing area configured to displayscrollable information that includes information entered via the textentry interface, the viewing area being displayed at a first size forthe viewing area; wherein: a first finger gesture is detected on thetouch-sensitive display at the text input field; in response todetection of the first finger gesture at the text input field: theviewing area is decreased from the first size of the viewing area to asecond size of the viewing area, smaller than the first size of theviewing area; and the text entry interface area is increased from thefirst predefined size of the text entry interface area to a secondpredefined size, the text entry interface area including the text inputfield and a soft keyboard when displayed at the second predefined size.